Ace Your Telephone Job Interview

Career Quote of the Day

Let’s talk telephone interviews. I know that on the surface there appears no difference between a face to face interview and a phone interview but believe me there are very important differences. Today I present you the most important tips to help you ace your phone interview.

Phone Interviews Are Taking Over

Why? Nowadays, over 7 percent of graduate interviews, will include a telephone interview as part of the preparation by the company as to whether you are good enough to actually have a face-to-face interview. Now, this is what everybody just does not know. Here’s the secret tips to telephone interview success.

Stand Confidently To Answer Confidently

There’s a couple of little tricks that a lot of people don’t realize with a phone interview, one of them and I highly recommend this, stand up during the interview, during the phone interview. It sounds silly but the thing is, you will actually come across better on the phone if you’re standing. I know a lot of people will actually dress in a suit for a phone interview. Again, it sounds kind of silly but the idea is that you tend to feel more professional when you are in a suit and so you’ll come across that way in a phone interview.

Anticipate Questions and Prepare Your Answer

Another thing that trips up many candidates is trying to concoct their answers on the fly. Don’t be one of those people. Try to imagine what the general path of the conversation will be. For instance, you know there’s going to be certain questions that get asked in every interview so it wouldn’t hurt to go ahead and craft specific, targeted answers to those questions, so that you’re prepared when they come.

Know When To Stop

This is the most common mistake – not knowing when to stop talking in a job interview. Don’t over-explain, I have seen nervous job seekers over explain their answer. More often than not, they ruin a perfectly good answer. Look for subtle signs, body language from the interviewer such as looking away, or shifting in their seat. It’s a sure sign to stop talking and that they are getting bored. If it’s a question that’s asked that takes a five-second answer, give them a five-second answer. I’ve seen too many people, when they get into that situation, that they make it a 45 second answer. Nobody really is going to want to hire somebody that rambles.

Refer To Your Resume

Make sure you have a cover letter and a resume in front of you for the interview. You have to have supporting material because they are sure to ask you a few questions that refers to your cover letter or your resume.